Day 34 - Last of the raspberries arrive and just one more thing before we go.

 Today was slightly different, normally we get to the allotment and what we planned to do is superseded by another job because we see manure, leaf mould or wood chip on the way to our allotment. This then means that job takes priority and we then get on with what we originally went to do. This was the reverse today, our lass finally got to plant some raspberry canes which have took a second time of asking for them to arrive. I collected the wildlife camera (disappointed as the damp weather has foggied the lense) and our lass put some feed out for the birds. It was a cold day, so it was back off to the warm. 

Just as we were leaving a car which had been parked had left, which revealed a pile of fresh bark chippings. Which meant from impromptu return to the allotment. I grabbed the spade and barrow and our lass her trusty rake. We now have a fresh layer on the pathway, which makes it look neater and helps level out the bumps and hollows in the path.

Out next big job is the our lasses green house roof, first of all we need to find a way to fix it, also needs a calm and clear day, guess we can count them using two fingers between now and next spring.

Last of the canes in, gritted for drainage, lets hope they fruit in the future.

Before

After

A little bark chipping between the compost and the blueberries/logan berries

Looking sharper, it was starting to get muddy especially with sorting the compost bins out.

Our lass said I had earned my Kit Kat

Noticed the fungi on the bottom of an old tree stump we have

Next job, answers on a postcard, on how to fix?

Day 21 - Annoying items out of the way and my one job.

It must be the same when you move into some ones house, get a used car, or in this case take over an allotment, it is making it yours and removing what was there before. We had some Brussel sprouts, which were covered in white fly, and quite bedraggled. So, they were removed, Also a patch of parsnips, neither of us like parsnips, it now means all previous crops are now gone, and all the planting areas are ours now, we still have a lot to do around the shed, but at least from the greenhouses onwards, it is cleared. 

I had one job, which was to clean the green house glass, that in itself is interesting, because it is not in the best of repair, but we can see clearly now, Having picked up some free buckets on the way up, we now have the starts of a planter arrangement for next years. It is all falling into place.

Day 16 - A door with a view and other things.

After every busy day, becomes a more relaxing one, today was just adding the finishing touches to things, we put some shelving up in greenhouse number two, (our lasses cuttings greenhouse) putting some card board up as the wind was pushing thru the foam, and putting two plants in the pond.

Greenhouse - Before and After

As I look through the emails I have sent, there are some striking before and afters. So will post the contrasts periodically throughout. Here is the first one. First photograph on an angle doesn't quite show all what had been growing on the right hand side.

Day 12, The path to success and other jobs.

Well Day 11 might have been a light news day, Day 12 certainly made up for it. The biggest change was the path. It had been as with everything formed on a bed of carpet, The choice, and we are still grappling with it now, is whether to stop where we have done or continue quite a way bit more down to the shed and passed the greenhouses. We had glass to clear by the compost bin, at the back of the green house, as a few pains had just been left where they had broken, the greenhouse was cleared and this time all the ground was covered in bark chippings as the ground had a mixture of slabs and carpet. with a work bench which must have been constructed inside or with greenhouse built around it. Then we have more of the compost bin number 2 and 3 construction underway.

Day 11, moving and clearing things

When doing these blogposts, I am using the headers as per the email to our lass, I think you could describe today, as a very light news day. We simply brought some old compost up and put it on a bed, and then put three containers in the greenhouse ready for next year. As I have stated, very light news day.

Day 10, Finished somethings and started others.

As you will see from the photographs, the first green house has been cleaned out and the flooring put in, paving around the edges and bark chipping in the middle, all a bit of a cheat, didn't fancy putting bags and bags of sharp sand down to try and level everything off, did wonder if the bark will bring in disease but our lass asked on a forum and found other gardeners use it in poly tunnels/ green houses. I will report back next year. We then started making use of the pallets, it can work as a back drop to a work area, as well as somewhere for the clematis to climb up. It also fences us off from others as we want to sit in the sun, whilst also marking out the boundary of our two other compost bins. Our lass also got to dig a little bit more today, just can't stop her. Last but not least, brought several barrow fulls of horse manure up the hill, it is not rotted, and we are going old school, and leaving it on top, for it to be dug in later on.